She works in the local jewel plant, the only real option for employment on the reservation, where Thomas works as the night watchman.

Pixie, who now wants to be called Patrice, is Thomas' niece, a young adult Indian woman. Of giving the local tribe a voice, is based in part on her own grandfather and the role he played in this historical event. Most of the characters are purely fictional, but Thomas, an older man who takes charge Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (of which Erdrich is part). What happens to them because of that push from Congress. But, as always,Įrdrich focuses in on one Indian community, a group of families, and Historical backdrop here is stunning and horrifying. Did you know that in 1953 Congress passed a resolution to disband and abolish certain tribes, take all land from the NativeĪmerican tribes and 'relocate' them to urban areas, all in the name of 'emancipation'? I didn't, and the In this case, her latest novel is based in history and the

I absolutely loved The Night Watchman.Īuthor who writes novels about Native American people, families, and I previously listened to her novels LaRose and Future Home of the Living God (my reviews at the links) on audio and enjoyed them both. Looking for my next audiobook in February, I noticed a recent (March 2020) release from Louise Erdrich, The Night Watchman, in my long audio review backlog.

Erdrich the night watchman